Italian National Republican Guard

The Italian National Republican Guard was a gendarmerie force of the Italian Social Republic during World War II, existing from 1943 to 1945. The National Republican Guard replaced the Blackshirts as the paramilitary wing of Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party, which was renamed to the Republican Fascist Party in 1943. On 15 August 1944, the National Republican Guard became an official party of the Social Republic's army, and it took part in the fight against the Allied Powers on the front lines. On 21 August 1944, Benito Mussolini assumed personal command of the National Republican Guard, and it was disbanded with the downfall of the Italian Social Republic in April 1945.